A framework to support run-time assured dynamic reconfiguration for pervasive computing environments

With the increasing use of pervasive computing environments (PCEs), developing dynamic reconfigurable software in such environments becomes an important issue. The ability to change software components in running systems has advantages such as building adaptive, long-life, and self-reconfigurable software as well as increasing invisibility in PCEs. As dynamic reconfiguration is performed in error-prone wireless mobile systems frequently, it can threaten system safety. Therefore, a mechanism to support assured dynamic reconfiguration at run-time for PCEs is required. In this paper, we propose an assured dynamic reconfiguration framework (ADRF) with emphasis on assurance analysis. The framework is implemented and is available for further research. To evaluate the framework, an abstract case study including reconfigurations has been applied using our own developed simulator for PCEs. Our experience shows that ADRF properly preserves reconfiguration assurance.